Reports in MLA Style

GOAL: Learn and practice standard formatting guidelines for a research report with properly credited sources.

TASKS

•  Format a report in MLA* Style.

•  Format Works Cited page

•  Format in-text citations

*Modern Language Association

PRODUCT

•  Properly formatted

•  Proofread: no spelling or word errors that change meaning

•  Header (or footer) includes: Student name/Class period/Date

RESOURCES
•  Word 2000 Tutorial: FGCU

•  Professor Hacker's MLA In-Text Citations

•  Landmarks Citation Machine

•  MLA Works Cited Format

 ASSESSMENT
•  Print Preview checked by teacher

•  Works Cited correct

•  In-text citations correct

PROCEDURES
I. Format a Report according to Modern Language Association style guidelines

1. Your teacher will give you a print copy of the MLA Report Formatting handout (a Publisher document).
2. Open the unformatted K 9 Report on your computer and save a copy to your H:drive.
3. Fill in the blanks in the handout while you follow the directions to reformat the K 9 report in MLA style. Your teacher may guide the class through this process.
4. Turn in the completed handout, and use Print Preview to display the formatted report for your teacher to grade.

II. Cite Report Sources

1. Your teacher will give you a print copy of the MLA Works Cited Exercise.
2. Open Microsoft Word and set up your document according to MLA guidelines, as you practiced in section I, above:

•  Key your 4 line heading top left

•  Key and center Works Cited on the next line

•  Double space

•  Create a header (or footer, as teacher prefers), with your last name and page number

•  Set all margins at 1 inch, header/footer at .5 inch.

3. Use one of the citation web sites in Resources to create citations for each resource listed on the second page of the handout.
4. Key appropriate information into the boxes of the citation maker, then copy and paste the result in your document.
5. Use Table > Sort to alphabetize your list. Note that MS Word will always list punctuation characters first, so you will have to drag and drop "Kid." into its proper place.
6. Print and hand in.

III. Create In-Text Citations

• Write answers to #'s 1-2
• On the report diagram, draw lines to connect each of the four citations in the body of the report to sources in the Works Cited list
• Place periods in the correct position after the quotes in # 4

3. On page 2, write the citation information in the parentheses for each example. Use your knowledge from section I, and the Diana Hacker site.